This invention pertains to hibachi-type grills. It pertains particularly to an hibachi-type grill-pouch combination which enables snuffing out of the burning fuel charged to the grill.
The invention pertains particularly to hibachi-type grills of the class disclosed and claimed in the co-pending application of Dannie O. Malafouris, Ser. No. 743,848, filed Nov. 22, 1976, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,133,335 and is described and illustrated with particular reference to a grill of this class although the invention is also applicable for use with other classes of grills.
The enjoyable and practical uses of hibachi-type grills are to some extent diminished by the fact that where the grill is used in a first location and thereafter transported to a second location, a substantial period of time must elapse before the grill cools down sufficiently to be carried. Additionally, the person carrying the grill runs the hazard of being burned. Also, the grill is heavy and rather clumsy to carry, particularly when it still is hot.
As a partial solution to the foregoing problems it is conventional practice either to let the fuel burn out entirely, or to dump it in a partially burned condition prior to letting the grill cool. This procedure has the obvious economic disadvantage of wasting a good proportion of the relatively expensive charcoal briquets normally used as a solid fuel.
It accordingly is the general purpose of the present invention to provide an hibachi-type grill combination which is self-extinguishing so that the burning fuel contents of the grill may be snuffed out in a time period of three or four minutes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an hibachi-type grill combination which may be carried easily, safely, and comfortably without danger of burning the person carrying the grill.
Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of an hibachi-type grill combination which, by extinguishing the burning solid fuel before it is completely consumed, preserves the unconsumed portion of the fuel for future use.
Still other objects of the present invention are the provision of a pouch-type container for extinguishing and carrying hibachi-type grills as well as a method for extinguishing the burning solid fuel contents thereof.
I have discovered that the foregoing and other objects may be achieved by the provision of the combination of an hibachi-type grill including at least one fuel tray having an overlying solid-fuel-retainer cooking support, and a substantially air-tight pouch dimensioned to receive the grill with burning solid fuel in the tray retained, therein by the cooking support.
The pouch has an opening sized to pass the grill. The opening is provided with a substantially air-tight closure adjustable between an open position for reception of the grill with its content of burning solid fuel and a closed position for substantially sealing off the pouch interior with the grill contained therein. This extinguishes the burning fuel by depriving it of combustion air.
Broadly considered, the method described herein for extinguishing the burning solid fuel in an hibachi-type grill comprises first providing a fire-resistant, substantially air-tight pouch having an opening dimensioned to pass the grill and provided with a substantially air-tight closure adjustable between open and closed positions. The closure first is adjusted to its open position. Next the grill is placed with its content of burning fuel inside the pouch. Finally the closure is adjusted to its closed position sealing off the pouch from access of air and thereby extinguishing the burning fuel.